Story of the Week: Tampa Uses Twitter to Break News

At 2:44 PM on Thursday, August 13, the Tampa Bay Lightning took a huge step forward on how NHL teams will be measured on how they use Twitter.

The Lightning’s Twitter team posted (AKA Tweeted) this message: “The Lightning are making a trade today. They'll be getting a player and a draft pick in return. More to come....”

It wasn’t from an anonymous hockey blogger, a fan or even one of their beat writers. It came directly from the team. Instantly, everyone who was flowing them on Twitter knew that Tampa was making a trade. And instantly, followers wanted more info. No doubt, page hits dramatically increased for Tampa’s website.

At 3:31 PM that same day, the Lightning finally broke the news of their trade with this Tweet: “The Lightning have acquired LW Drew Miller and a 3rd rd pick in 2010 from Anaheim in exchange for Evgeny Artyukhin.”

Not the biggest trade in the hockey world. In fact, the impact of his trade might be felt more off the ice and then on it by the way the message was delivered.

At this point, I believe 29 of the 30 NHL teams use Twitter. Until yesterday, the 29 teams used Twitter mostly to deliver promotional/marketing news and website updates. Some teams used Twitter to update their draft board at the draft, but that news was also available on countless other websites and Twitter accounts.

The Lightning not only broke the news of the trade, they teased it to everyone.

It was an excellent way for Tampa to drum up interest in a trade that would hardly make headlines in the middle August. It also increased websites hits and the amount of followers they have on Twitter.

Today, people are talking about the Tampa Bay Lightning acquiring Drew Miller and a 3rd round draft pick not because Drew Miller is the next Wayne Gretzky, but because Drew Miller will become the answer to a trivia question on a potential historic moment for the NHL and Twitter.

ROAD NOTES: Islanders at Buffalo

Tonight the Islanders and Sabres meet for the first time since the Orange and Blue swept the season-opening home-and-home series back in October.

The Islanders will indeed stick with seven defensemen in lineup tonight according to head coach Ted Nolan. Coach told the media that D-Man Marc-Andre Bergeron will be back in the lineup tonight and by the looks of it at the morning skate, Freddy Meyer will sit. Ruslan Fedotenko is out again tonight with a shoulder injury.

On Buffalo’s side, the non-comitial Lindy Ruff wouldn’t directly say it but it seems like Ryan Miller is starting for the Sabres once again. Dmitri Kalinin and Henrik Tallinder are injured for Buffalo and it seems like forward Michael Ryan will be their healthy scratch while Daniel Paille returns to their lineup.

NEWS: Jack’s the Man

When the Islanders hit the ice for their 10:30 morning skate today at the Nassau Coliseum, Tim Jackman was the new forward in the group. It looks like he’ll replace the injured Aaron Johnson in the lineup tonight against the Rangers.

Jackman had two goals and five assist for seven points in ten games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before his recall to the big club.

The 6-4, 210 pound winger will wear No. 28 for the Orange and Blue tonight.

NYI: Practice @ Iceworks Canceled

Just to let everyone know incase anyone was planning on coming down, the Islanders’ practice at Iceworks in Syosset tomorrow has been canceled. The team is now practicing at the Nassau Coliseum, which is closed to the public due to security concerns. Sorry for the inconvenience.

MEDIA WATCH: Found on the Net - Monday

Over at theglobeandmail.com, blogger James Mirtle compiled a list of NHL attendances by comparing how teams are drawing this year compared to last year. Out of the 30 teams, the Islanders ranked second in the NHL drawing 3,035 more fans on average then last season. Only St. Louis was better. It should be noted that eight teams were at or over capacity last season and did not change this year. New Jersey also has not had a home game yet this season. Click here to read.

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USAToday.com’s AJ Perez sat down with Islanders defensemen Bryan Berard when the team was in the Washington last week. Click here to view Checking in with…, which is a Q&A style article.

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Also on USAToday.com, Kevin Allen wrote a list of NHL General Managers who did the best job of diagnosing their problems and fixing them for this season. He put Islanders GM Garth Snow at the very top of his list. Click here to read it in his blog.

NEWS: FREDDY MEYER TO PHOENIX

Defenseman Freddy Meyer has been claimed off waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes. As reported earlier by media outlets, Meyer was placed of waivers on Saturday.

On a personal note, Freddy was great to deal with and we wish him the best of luck in Phoenix.

NEWS: Tambellini Up

The Islanders have recalled forward Jeff Tambellini on an emergency basis from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. He practiced with the Islanders today at Islanders Iceworks and skated with Josef Vasicek and Miroslav Satan.

Tambellini played in Bridgeport’s season opener last night and recorded an assist in a 3-2 victory against Hartford.